Minnow Storage

[gunflint]

Anyone have any good ideas for quick and easy minnow storage? I'm not looking for an all day project. Something like, 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled,etc. With lake temps in the 50s minnows should live a long time. I need to buy a gallon or 2 for fall and I can't get decent ones locally. Thanks

[Deitz Dittrich]

A large cooler with an air system of some sort?.. Kinda like an extra livewell?

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have an el-cheapo 5 gallon aquarium I got at a garage sale for like a buck. I put a regular bubbler in there and minnows last forever.

[gunflint]

These are great ideas. Would you have to change water, feed them,etc. I was thinking of some sort of set up where I could just put it in the lake.

[Eric Wettschreck]

You can take the el-cheapo fish tank and put it right in the lake. take the top offa it and put window screen over the top. Wrap a bungee around it and voila, redneck minnow storage. That's kind of a cool thing cuz they would be getting fresh water all the time and you wouldn't have to change it.

If ya think the little fellers are getting hungry you can drop a small chunk of stale bread in the tank so they can feast on that for a while.

[harvey lee]

I keep all my minnows in a 140 gt cooler and I put 2 cheap air stones in it.I keep approx 10 dozen minnows in there at all times.

I also add a chemical to the water to help with chlorine and such.I buy that at Wally word. I also change my water about every three-four days.You will have problems if you dont.

I keep these minnows all winter and lose very few.This has worked well for me summer and winter.Its in my garage and that never gets to hot in the summer.

[Shad rap]

When I was growing up at our cabin we had the inside of a wash machine. tied to the dock. it would keep minnows forever. we had it on two pole so you could lift it up when the minnow suppy was running low.

[ChuckN]

With help from Biglakebass' idea...

I went to the hardware store and bought a roll of 1/4" metal construction mesh and I cut it up into pieces and made a rectangular shaped bait box with a lid. It doesn't look the greatest, but it works fantastic. It stands about 36" tall, 24"x18" wide. Holds a lot of bait. It took me about an hour to make it.

I tried a 5 gallon bucket contraption once and the minnows died. Not enough oxygen flow, but maybe if you drill a gazilion holes it may work...

I also have a AC bubbler in a cooler/bucket and that works good, but a pain to change the water daily. Disease and contamination seems to kill them off after a week or 2 if you don't clean the container.

[Fishook]

I have used my minnow trap and if one is not big enough, you can add a second. Just an idea for you to think about.

[IFallsRon]

We used traps but sometimes small perch and crawdads got in and had a feast.

[Northlander]

Mark the inside of the washer trick works great. A friend on Sturgion Lake would do this and keep minnows in it all year. He put a wooden lid on it with a handle and a bungy cord from the handle to a hole in the side of the tub. A couple big rocks on the bottom or some quickcreat should keep it in place reel nice. I would just toss it under the dock and make a trap door in the dock. It also worked good to keep fish over night that we were too lazy to clean late at night after fishing all day. Those Crappies and gills are a bugger to clean in the dark.

Or find a plastic 50 gallon drum and dril holes in it and place it in the lake off the end of the dock by your boat. I can get them from a guy down here for about $20. It would last forever.

[gunflint]

Yeah Steve it looks like this is going to turn into a project. But it's a good day for it up here. 25mph winds and rain. So it will give me something to do while the lake turns over.

I can't believe the price of Redtails. $90 for 20 to 25 dozen. What ever I come up with is going to have to include armed security.

[ChuckN]

At $8+ a dozen retail you are saving money.

BTW, raccoons absolutely love chubs. Be vwery, vwery careful.

[DTro]

This item + cooler + 12 volts= lively minnows for days. Stick it in the cooler add power. Need anything easier?

[StCroixNewB]

My wife doesn't like the idea much but I throw mine in our small coy pond in the backyard... the worst part is having to catch them when you want to head out. the best part is that they seem to really like it in there and they may even be reproducing. I threw about a dozen or so that were left over after fishing one day, they were all about the same size and when I went to get some out a month or so later, I pulled up some that were definitely smaller than the ones I threw in!

[ozzie]

I would just make a fine mesh box with 2x2 boards.... Frame it up and make sure the mesh is small enough to not allow anything in or out besides water. Should be easy enough to pull up and take out of the water. Hold the lid tight with a clamp and a lock and you won't have to worry about pesky critters hopefully!!!

Sounds like I have the same idea as ChuckN.....

[gunflint]

This has turned into a highly complex engineering masterpiece. Involving hardware cloth, green treated lumber and various hardware. I am gathering the motivation to head out to the shop now.

I'm trying to keep these things alive for the month of october.

[Blue Kayak]

You can probably get 4 gallon or 5 gallon buckets with lids for free or no more than a dollar if you check with a bakery or grocery store deli. Just drill a bunch of holes in the bucket and lid, add a small rock, and you should be able to keep minnows in a lake.

[Down Deep]

When I fish some of the remote lakes in Canada I use a couple of 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled in the bottoms and the sides. A rock in the bottom deep six's the bucket and they are otter proof. Each bucket holds about 10-12 doz and die off is minimal. If you have some flowing water all the better.

[Banger]

I use the "guts" from an old 50 gal. aquarium that I used to have. The water recyler and bubblers are great. I put them into a cooler and keep them in my garage. Last year I had minnows into January until I finally used them all. I would have put them in the aquarium but it leaks pretty bad. This system seems to work fine for me, the only draw back is that if you don't have the top covered those redtails and river shinners like to jump out and commit suicide.